The present invention relates to thermal transfer devices, and in particular to a heat pipe containing suspended nanoparticles to provide thermal superconductivity.
Electromechanical devices and chemical conversion devices require efficient means to transfer heat for energy conversions, and for waste heat dissipation. Heat pipes have been developed to provide more efficient heat transfer.
In U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,132,823 and 6,811,720, as well as Published Application Nos. U.S. 2003/0066638 and U.S. 2005/0056807, all by Yu-Zhi Qu, tubes containing one or multiple layers of inorganic compounds have been described as having extremely high thermal conductivity. The patents and patent applications describe devices exhibiting thermal conductivity 20,000 to 30,000 times the thermal conductivity of silver.
The Qu patents and patent applications describe layers containing 10 to 12 different compounds in differing weight percentages.